Window operating mechanism



June 13, 1961 W. E. SALA 2,987,937

WINDOW OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June lO, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheetl 1 W/a/AM E. SALA `une 13, 1961 W. E. SALA 2,987,937

WINDOW OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June l0, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

'1,661 WML/AM E. SALA l l rroRNEyS `lune 13, 1961 w. E. SALA 2,987,937

WINDOW OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June l0, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 fie. 6

IN V EN TOR.

W/a/AM E. SALA 'l 1 flrroemsys June 13, 1961 w. E. sALA 2,987,937

WINDOW OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June l0, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. M//LL MM ET SALA BY f Arron/sys inw) United States Patent C v 2,987,937 WINDOW OPERATING MECHANISM p William E. Sala, Lyndhurst, Ohio, assignor to Eaton Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed .lune 10, 1958, Ser. No. 741,151 4 Claims. (Cl. 74-505) This invention relates to window operating mechanisms and, more particularly, to window operating mechanisms of the kind adapted for mounting on or in doors or other body portions of a vehicle for moving the windows to dilerent desired positions.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel construction representing a simple and compact form of a window operating mechanism of this character and comprising a minimum number of parts adapted to be economically produced and readily assembled and by which the mechanism is also readily adaptable to either rightor left-hand installation.

Another object is to provide a new and improved window operating mechanism of the character mentioned above and wherein the housing and other components are of a form to minimize the number of such components and the manufacture and assembly costs thereof, and wherein the mechanism embodies novel provisions for mounting a driving motor thereon and for attachment of the mechanism to a bracket or carrier.

Still another object is to provide such a novel construction for a window operating mechanism of the kind having a rotatable drum and a ilexible transmission means actuatable by the drum for imparting movement to the window, and wherein the drum forms a part of a preformed assembly which can be readily produced and easily assembled into the housing of the device in operative relation to a driving means.

Additionally, this invention provides such an improved window operating mechanism in which novel means is employed for attachment of the flexible transmission means to the drum, and wherein the driving means for the drum includes a drive member having a novel form of mounting in the housing of the mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent in the following detailed description and in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which,

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a window` operating mechanism embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an other elevation of the mechanism but with the driving motor omitted, the view being taken as indicated by the directional line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical section taken through the mechanism axially of the drum unit thereof, thel view being on a larger scale and taken as indicated by section line 3-3 of FIG. l;

FlG 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken axially through the drum unit and showing such unit removed from the housing;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the drum unit in a detached relation;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the drum unit in such detached relation;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of the mechanism with the cover means of the housing removed and with portions of the housing shown in section;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the housing of the mechanism; and

FIG. 9 is a partial and elevation corresponding with a portion of FIG. 7 and showing a modied construction.

As one practical embodiment of this invention the drawings show a window operating mechanism 10 which comprises, in general, a housing 11 having a rotatable 2,987,937 Patented June 13, 1961 ICC 2 drum unit 12 therein, a motor mount 13 connected with the housing, and a reversible electric driving motor 14 attached to the motor mount and operable to drive the drum unit 12. The window operating mechanism 10 also includes a carrier or bracket 15 having the housing 11 and the motor mount 13 connected therewith and adapting the mechanism for attachment to a door or body portion of a vehicle in operative association with a window to be moved.

The carrier 15 is here shown as being a vertically elongated sheet metal member of a size yand shape suitable for attachment to a Wall or panel of a vehicle door or other body portion in adjacent relation to the Window to be operated. The carrier 15, as here shown, includes a lower plate portion 16 having an offset attaching flange 17, and a vertical arm portion 18 extending above the plate portion 16 and having upper attaching portions 19 and 20. The attaching portions 17 and 20 are provided with suitable plain or threaded openings to receive connecting screws for attaching the carrier 15 to the vehicle structure and the attaching portion 19 carries another such connecting screw or stud 19a.

The window operating mechanism 10 also includes an idler pulley 21 mounted on the upper portion of the carrier 15, as by means of a pivot pin 22, and a exible transmission means which is here shown in the form of a strand or cable 23 extending upwardly from the drum unit 12 and passing around the pulley. One of the reaches of the cable 23, in this instance the reach 23a, has a suitable ferrule 24 secured thereon for co-operation with a clip or bracket 25 which is adapted to be connected with the window to be operated to enable the cable to apply lifting and lowering forces to such window.

The housing 11 comprises a hollow body 27 and a cover 26 formed by a portion of the motor mount 13. The body 27 is preferably in the form of a one-piece metal casting, such as a die casting, and has an end opening 28 at one end thereof and a chamber 29 extending axially thereinto from such end opening. At the other end thereof the body 27 is provided with an end wall 30 which is formed in part by a cylindrical hollow projection 31 containing an extension portion 29a of the chamber 29. The body 27 also includes a hollow projection 33 formed as a portion of the end wall 30 and extending axially through the chamber portion 29EL into the chamber 29. The projection 33 is provided at the free end thereof with a shaft-like portion forming a bearing 34 for rotatably supporting the drum unit 12 in the housing 11.

The drum unit 12 comprises connected drum and gear elements 36 and 37 which are rotatably supported on the bearing 34 ofthe housing as by means of an associated hub element 38. The drum 36 comprises a hollow cylindrical portion 36a having a transverse radial end wall or ange 39 at one end thereof. The cylindrical portion 36a provides a winding surface on which a portion of the cable 23 is adapted to be wrapped or wound, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and has guide openings 40 and 41 therein at arcuately spaced points, in this case at substantially diametrically opposed points lying on opposite sides of the axis of the bearing 34. The periphery of the drum portion 36a is preferably provided with grooves 36b which receive the turns of the cable and prevent jamming of adjacent turns.

The cable 23 is a continuous strand having a loop or bight extending around the pulley 21 and also having lead or anchorage portions 44 and 45 extending into the housing 11 and into the interior of the drum 36 through the guide openings 40 and 41 of the latter, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. The body 27 of the housing is provided with access openings 45al in opposite sides of the hollow -..Ihn Partien v ofY .the .cable ...251mg extending, .to the interior of the drum 36 form an anchorage lioop or bight 46 having a ferrule 47 clamped thereon and engaged by ananchorageV means 4f', carried bythe drum. The anyolrorage means 48 is here shown as being a bendable finger formed by an inwardly deected portion of the wall of the drum 36 and which finger portion has been deflected into locked engagement with the ferrule 47.

p The two ends of the cable 23 can be joined at asuitable point thereof such as by one or the other `of the fer- `rules 47 or 24, preferably by the latter ferrule.

The drum 36 is disposed in the housing 11 in-surrounding relation to the projection 33 and with its radialfange 39 lying against a side face of the gear 37 and secu-red to the latter as by means of suitable rivets Si?. The drum 36 and the gear 37 are here shown as comprising a sub assembly which, together with the hub element 3S, form the drum unit or assembly 12. The drum and gear are connected with the hub 38 by being locked thereon between an annular shoulder 51 and an upset annular portion 52.

Thedrum 36 can be made as a sheet metal stamping or, if desired, can be molded from nylon or other suitable plastic material yor from powdered metal. lThe gear 37 can likewise be a metal member or can berrnolded from nylon or other suitable plastic material or from powdered metal. Although the d-rum 36 and the gear 37 are here z .grooves .7.0. of. the .respective bushings- The bushings.

shown as being separate parts riveted together they can,

if desired, be formed as a one-piece molded member molded from material of the kind mentioned just above.

The hub 38 can be fof any suitable material and can be constructed as a machined metal epartor, if desired,

can be cast or molded from metal, plastic materialvor powdered metal. Although the hub 38 is here shown as .being an individual part separate fromVA the drum element 36 and the gear element 37 it could, ifdesired, be formed ,integral with one or the other of those elements.

The drum unit 12 is preferably produced as appreuformed assembly and is movable, as such, into the chamber 29 of the housing 11 through the end opening 28 of thelatter to an assembled rotative position on the bearing 34 and with the drum 36 extending into the chamber portion 29a in the above-mentioned surrounding relation to the hollow internal projection 33. The drum assembly 12 is retained in this assembled position on the bearing 34 'by the cover-forming portion 26 of the motor mount 13, which extends across the opening 23. The motor mount 13 is initially connectedwith the body 27 of the housing 11 by a screw 54 engaged in a threaded opening of the bearing 34.

The body 27 of the housing 11 is provided at one portino of its periphery with a hollow radial projection 55 Vto accommodate a driving member which is inmeshed engagement with the gear 37 and which is here shown as .being a helically threaded member or worm 56. The

housing projection 55 is provided with openingsv 57 and -58 located .in an aligned relation along a common axis 59 which is the rotation axis of the worm 56 and which .extends in a tangential relation to the toothed periphery of the gear 37. The worm 56 is provided at opposite ends thereof with shaft portions 61 and 62 located in'Y the aligned openings S7 and 58 and with thrust `shoulders 63 and 64 facing axially away from the threaded portion of the worm and located at the inner ends of theshaft lport-ions 61 and62. f

It can be mentioned at this point that the-body 27 and .the drum unit 12, as shown and described herein,'are entirely symmetrical in form. 'IhischaracterA-isticis important in keeping the numberv of diiferent parts at a Vminium quantity and still. provide for right-hand and left-hand assemblies of theV mechanism 10 asis further explained hereinafter.

The worm 56 is rotatably supported'in the housing pro'- jection 55 by bushings 66 and-67 mounted in thealigned openings 5'7 and 5S and retained therein byt,ransverse yroll pins'68 and 69 engaging in peripheral notches or and 67 are located in the openings 57 and 58 so that the adjacent ends of the bushings are engageable by the thrust shoulders 63 and 64 of the worm 56 for holding the latter against axala.s`hifting by the reaction from the drivingcooperationtnf.theworm with the gear 37.

' To facilitate theassernbling of .the wormv '56 `in the housing projection 55,'one or both of the aligned-openings 57 and ,SSare of apdiameter somewhat greater than the outside diameter ofthe .worm VVso that the worm can be moved in the direction of its axis to its operative or assembled position, after which the bushings 66 and 67 are applied to the shaftportions 61, 62 and are secured in place by insertion ofthe roll pins 68 and 69. One of the'shaft'portions of the worm 56, in this instance the shaft' portion 62, is of a length to extend through its associated bushings y67 `to provide a tail. shaft portion 62a with which the electric driving motor 14 is adapted to be connected as explained hereinafter.

The motor mount 13 is here shown as'being a platelike lmember preferably `of sheet metal, having a ilat web or plate portion forming the cover 26 and also adapted to be clamped between the body 27 of the housing and thelower plate portion 16 of the carrier 1S. The` housing 11 is adapted to be secured to theplateportion 16 of -the carrier 15 Aby attaching screws 74 which also extend through the web portion of the motor mount 13 for clamping the latter between the body 27 andthe plate portion of the carrier. The motor mount 13 is preferably provided with stiiening flanges v and 76 along the upper and lower edges thereof and is also provided with. a pair of vertically spaced motor lsupport anges 77 and 73 to which the electric motor lis attached by means of suitable bolts 79 extending through resilient bushings 80 located on opposite sides of the supv port iianges 77 and 78.

The electric motor 14 is provided-with an armature shaft or ythe like 82 which extends toward the housing 11 between the support flanges 77 and 78 and is drivingly connected with the tail shaft 62a of the Worm 56 by a vsuitable coupling 83. lIn the operation of the window operating mechanism `l1t), the reversible .electricj motor 14 drives the worm 56 to rotate the gear 37 and the drum 36 `in one direction or the other to thereby alter the wrapped condition of the cable 23 to cause lifting or Vlowering of the bracket 25 and the window connected `separate shaft andkshaft bearings for rotatably` supporting the drum unit 12 is avoided, and that the machining of the bearing 34,.[0 the limited extent which isneeded, `can be performed as a partV ofthe machining procedure on the body 27 .i It will -likewise be seen that by using a-portion of the motor mount V13Vto form an end wall of the housing, the need forv aV-separate cover member is avoided, and that the drum unit can be readily moved to its assemlbled position through theopen end 2S of the housing and retained in'its operative l position by the cover-,forming portion of the'motor mount. It will be seen further Ythat thesameattaching ,screws which secure the housing to the carrier 15 also clamp. the motorV mount 13 inaits assembled position between body of the housingand the carrier(` Additionally it will be seen, from thej construction hereinY disclosedythatj the worm 56can be readily assembled ,into Vthe housing projection 55 by the mere positioning ofthe bushings` 66 and 67 in the aligned open-V ings 57 and'SS and insertingl the roll pins 68 and 69 into holding engagement withV the bushings.VV

It will also be seen that with the construction shown and described for the motor mount 13 and for the mounting of the worm 56, the window operating mechanism is readily adaptable for use as either a right-hand or lefthand assembly to suit the vehicle door or body portion on which it is to be mounted. In this connection it will be observed further that only the motor mount 13 and the carrier 15 need be made as symmetrically opposite righthand and left-hand parts and when a mechanism of the opposite hand to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is desired, it is only necessary to reverse the position of the worm 56 in the housing projection 55 and locate the motor on the other side of the housing. Because of this adaptability of the mechanism, the same parts can be used for righthand and left-hand installations with the exception of the motor mount 13 and the carrier 15.

The window operating mechanism 10` has been described herein as including the carrier or bracket 15 but it will be recognized that, by suitably shaping the portion of the vehicle panel or door part on which the operating mechanism is to be mounted, the need for the carrier 15 as a separate part can be avoided.

FIG. 9 relates to the mounting of the worm in the housing 11 by means of the bushings 66 and 67 and shows a modified form of construction. As shown in this view, the bushings 66 and 67 can be retained in the bores 57 and 58 by rolled-down annular shoulders 85 and 86 on the housing 11 instead of by roll pins or the like. The retaining shoulders 85 and 86 are obtained by providing the housing with suitable deformable projections or anges 85a and 86a which can be rolled or deflected by a suitable tool to the holding position in engagement with the outer ends of the bushings 66 and 67, as shown in FIG. 9.

Although the window operating mechanism of this invention has been illustrated and described herein to a somewhat detailed extent, it Will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be regarded as being limited correspondingly in scope but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claims hereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a window operating mechanism; a housing body comprising a gear chamber portion having an end opening and a gear chamber extending axially thereinto from said end opening, and a hollow axial projection portion at the other end of said body and integrally connected with said gear chamber portion and containing a drum chamber in direct communication with said gear chamber; said projection portion having a transverse end wall and a side wall provided with a pair of spaced access openings communicating with said drum chamber; bearing means rigid with said end wall substantially centrally thereof and extending axially in said housing body; said bearing means being of an axial length to extend through said drum chamber into said gear chamber and having a free end portion located adjacent said end opening; a preformed gear and drum unit comprising a gear member and a hollow drum member connected therewith; said unit being insertable into said housing body through said end opening and being rotatably mounted on said bearing means with said gear member located in .said gear chamber and said drum member located in said drum chamber; flexible transmission means having lead portions extending through said access openings and another portion wrapped on said drum member; rotatable driving means supported by said housing body and meshed with said gear member; a cover means; and means connected with said free end portion and holding said cover means in closing relation to said end opening.

2. Window operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing body including said gear chamber portion, said projection portion and said bearing means comprises a unitary one-piece cast-metal structure.

3. Window operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said gear and drum members have axial openings centrally thereof; and wherein said unit also compreses a hollow hub member extending thorugh said axial openings and connected with said gear and drum members by an upset portion on the hub member.

4. Window operating mechanism comprising.; a housing body having an end opening at one end thereof and a gear chamber extending axially thereinto from said end opening; said body being adapted for connection with a support and having a hollow portion at the other end thereof containing a drum chamber in direct communication with said gear chamber; said hollow portion having a transverse end wall and a side wall provided with opening means in communication with said drum chamber; a preformed gear and drum unit in said body comprising a gear member in said gear chamber, and a drum member in said drum chamber and connected with said gear member; bearing means rigid with said end wall and extending axially in said chambers and having said unit rotatably received thereon by movement of said unit into said body through said end opening; a drive member rotatably supported by said body and meshed with said gear member; exible transmission means having lead portions extending through said opening means and another portion wrapped on said drum member; a motor mount connected with said body and comprising motor attachment portions and a cover plate portion extending across said end opening; and a drive motor secured to said attachment portions and having a drive shaft connected with said drive member.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,707,362 OConnor Apr. 2, 1929 1,900,675 Trout Mar. 7, 1933 1,902,934 Acker Mar. 28, 1933 2,403,075 Green July 2, 1946 2,539,782 Kell Ian. 30, 1951 2,598,709 Morris June 3, 1952 2,628,090 Verdier Feb. 10, 1953 2,649,337 Ware Aug. 18, 1953 2,826,092 Turtle Mar. 11, 1958 2,860,873 Miles Nov. 18, 1958 

